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Choir! Choir! Choir! sets Aretha Franklin tribute for Thursday

by The Canadian Press

Posted Aug 20, 2018 12:39 pm EDT

Last Updated Aug 20, 2018 at 1:20 pm EDT

Singalong Collective "Choir Choir Choir!" performs in Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square on October 24 , 2017. Choir! Choir! Choir! is paying tribute to the "Queen of Soul" with a special night of celebration. Organizers for the drop-in Toronto vocal collective say they'll gather on Thursday to recognize the passing of Aretha Franklin. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO – Choir! Choir! Choir! is paying tribute to the “Queen of Soul” with a special night of celebration.

Organizers for the drop-in Toronto vocal collective say they’ll gather on Thursday to recognize the passing of Aretha Franklin.

The group — which spends a night rehearsing a song before recording the performance for an online video — plans to sing Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”

They’ll meet at Toronto’s Great Hall concert venue at 8 p.m. for a “pay what you can” all-ages event.

“We were never lucky enough to meet or sing with Aretha Franklin though she was always at the top of my list,” said co-founder Nobu Adilman.

“Her voice and music were a big part of (my) early listening years.”

Choir! Choir! Choir! was founded in 2011 as a bunch of singers who wanted to unite over their common interest in popular music.

Over the years they’ve performed a number of tributes to iconic musicians shortly after their deaths, including one for David Bowie at the Art Gallery of Ontario and Gord Downie at Nathan Phillips Square. They were also invited to perform at two Bowie tribute shows at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall.

Some of their most notable YouTube videos include a version of Prince’s “When Doves Cry” and of Rick Astley’s 1987 hit “Never Gonna Give You Up,” which featured the English singer leading the crowd.